Two of South Africa’s internationally recognised, Indian-origin scientists were among the 38 people awarded the country’s highest civilian awards in recognition of their outstanding contributions toward public health.
Professor Salim Abdool Karim and Professor Keertan Dheda, were formally awarded the prestigious Order of Mapungubwe by President Cyril Ramaphosa at Pretoria.
This specific order recognises South African citizens who have achieved excellence and exceptional accomplishment to the direct benefit of South Africa and the global community.
The citation for Karim, who was awarded the Order of Mapungubwe in Gold, honours his monumental contributions to medical science and public health, particularly his groundbreaking research into HIV/Aids and tuberculosis (TB) epidemiology, and his exceptional leadership in national health policy development.
source: http://www.dailypioneer.com / The Pioneer / Home / by Fakir Hussain / May 21st, 2026
Researchers at the Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit of Aligarh Muslim University have identified a new multidrug-resistant bacterial genome in wastewater flowing through Aligarh city, raising concerns over the growing threat of antibiotic resistance in densely populated urban areas.
The findings, published in the April edition of the scientific journal ‘Molecular Biology Reports’, are based on a long-term study by a team of scientists led by Asad Ullah Khan, Shamsi Khalid and Absar Talat, who have been tracking the evolution of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) for over a decade.
According to the study, genome sequencing of a bacterial isolate, identified as ‘AK 633’ from a major city drain revealed the presence of a rare “mosaic plasmid” carrying the NDM-7 gene, which is associated with resistance to multiple antibiotics.
In microbiology, plasmids are small DNA molecules inside bacteria that can transfer genetic material, including drug-resistance traits, from one bacterium to another. A “mosaic plasmid” refers to a plasmid formed through genetic recombination, enabling it to carry resistance traits from different bacterial sources.
The researchers said the NDM-7 gene belongs to the New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM) family of resistance genes, which make bacteria resistant even to “last-resort antibiotics” such as carbapenems that are often used when other antibiotics fail.
The study noted that the sequencing of AK 633 pointed to the role of the plasmid ‘p1550’ in the possible global spread of high-risk antibiotic-resistant bacterial clones.
Talking to PTI, researcher Asad Ullah Khan said the findings underscore the urgent need for a wider national surveillance and awareness programme to monitor and contain the growing menace of drug-resistant bacterial genomes.
He said antibiotic resistance has emerged as a major public health challenge worldwide and pointed to untreated waste disposal, particularly hospital waste, and poor drainage management as important contributing factors.
Khan also stressed the need for vigilance during drain-cleaning operations in urban areas.
“Very often after drains are cleaned, the sludge is left on the roadside for long periods instead of being immediately removed. Such practices can contribute to the spread of resistant organisms,” he said.
According to the researchers, genotypic analysis — the study of the genetic composition of bacterial isolates — is essential to understand how resistance genes spread between bacteria in community and hospital settings.
Khan said at least 94 variants of NDM genes have so far been identified globally, many of which are increasingly being found both in hospitals and in the community.
“These are among the main causes of resistance against last-resort antibiotics,” he said.
The researchers noted that while similar work is being carried out in a limited number of laboratories in India, a much larger scientific and public health effort is needed to combat the growing threat posed by multidrug-resistant bacterial genomes.
source: http://www.english.varthabharati.in / Vartha Bharati / Home> India / by Musthafa / May 20th, 2026
Banner image: Images courtesy of Parveen Shaikh/Whitley Award.
Scientist Parveen Shaikh has been awarded a 2026 Whitley Award by the UK charity Whitley Fund for Nature, recognising her efforts to protect the endangered Indian skimmer along India’s rivers. The award comes with funding to expand her community-led conservation model from Chambal river to Prayagraj, where the Ganga and Yamuna rivers converge.
The Indian skimmer is identified by its vivid orange bill and its habit of flying low over water, skimming the surface to catch fish. India holds over 90% of the world’s population of the bird, with roughly 3,000 individuals, making the country critical to the species’ survival. The birds breed on seasonal sandbars and mid-river islands, making their nests vulnerable to changes in river flow, predators, and human disturbance.
When Shaikh, who works with the Bombay Natural History Society, began her “Guardians of the Skimmer” initiative on the Chambal river, the local Indian skimmer population stood at around 400 individuals in 2017. As of 2025, the population has grown to approximately 1,000. Nest survival has nearly doubled, rising from 14 percent to 27 percent, a direct result of community involvement and scientific monitoring.
“Local guardians help identify new sandbars, monitor nests, and prevent disturbance during the breeding season. Some now proudly refer to the skimmers as “our birds,” which reflects a growing sense of ownership,” says Shaikh.
With the Whitley Award funding, her team will now expand to Prayagraj in Uttar Pradash, a place of cultural significance and also home to breeding populations of Indian skimmers, river lapwings, and little terns. The challenges here include heavy boat traffic, fishing activity, religious practices along the riverbank, and urban pollution all increase pressure on nesting colonies. The team plans to appoint new local guardians, install predator-proof fencing, and use GPS mapping for real-time nest monitoring.
The Whitley Award, also known as the Green Oscars, is given annually to those achieving exceptional success in grassroots community-led protection for threatened species and habitats.
This year, the award includes two Indians among the six winners. In addition to Shaikh, the other winner from India is Barkha Subba who is leading the first grassroots movement to protect the Himalayan salamander and its fragile wetland habitat in the Darjeeling Himalaya, West Bengal.
Read about Parveen Shaikh’s work in Chambal river and the community champions that she works with in this 2021 story on Jagdish, one of the nest guardians.
source: http://www.india.mongabay.com / Mongabay / Home> Global> Beyond Protected Areas / April 30th, 2026
* On the list are 14 Muslim zoologists and scientists
* To date, India has identified 102,718 animal species
* Work is underway to discover new species in ecosystems
* 15 million living species still to be discovered
THE Kolkata-headquartered Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), whose scientists and field staff are engaged in exploring, naming, describing, classifying, and documenting animals from all over the world’s most populous country, has a miserably low number of Muslims – 23 – on its rolls that has a total of 591 officers, administration and field staffers, according to Mohammed Abdul Mannan’s new book, At the Bottom of the Ladder: State Of The Indian Muslims – https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0GF1Q9R25. The book quantifies Muslim presence in 150 key organisations, including Union ministries, departments, and organisations.
The Muslim scientists and zoologists at the ZSI are – Sarfraz Ul Islam Kazmi, Shaikh Rehnuma Sultana, Mohammed Hafiz, Imran Alam, Shabnam Nizamuddin Ansari, Jalil Ahmed, Mohammed Rasmanjani Ali, Anjum Nasreen Rizvi, Rifat Hussain Raina, Jafer Palat, Mohammed Ethtesham Ul Hassan, Ruqiya Bano, and K Bakh Mollah. There are seven Field Assistants from the largest minority community.
Among 82 ZSI scientists are two Muslims – Dr M E Hassan, a Scientist ‘E’ at the Gangetic Plains Regional Centre in Patna, and S R Sultana, Assistant Zoologist at the Freshwater Biology Regional Centre in Hyderabad. Among 98 officials at 15 Regional Centres, eight are Muslims, including two NRCs in Dehradun – Dr. Anjum Nasreen Rizvi, a scientist in Nematology, Helminthology and Molecular Systematics, and Dr S I Kazmi, a scientist in Hymenoptera. The Western Regional Centre in Pune’s four staff members include Dr Muhamed Jafer Palot, a scientist in animal taxonomy with a special interest in birds, reptiles, and butterflies. Dr Anjum Rizvi is the Managing Editor of the Journal of Indian Zoology.
The 108-year-old organisation has been working to understand and investigate the faunal diversity for scientific use and equitable sharing of the benefits of animal resources of the country. Formed in July 1916, it conducts surveys, exploration, and research that lead to the advancement of zoological knowledge. ZSI originated from the establishment of the Zoological Section of the Indian Museum at Calcutta in 1875.
It gradually expanded in terms of its manpower and research programme. Today, India is among the 17 mega-diversity countries of the world, with four biodiversity hotspots, including the Western Ghats/Sri Lanka, Indo-Burma, and the Himalayas. Currently, there are about 1.7 million living species described from all over the world, and another 15 million species are waiting to be discovered. To date, India has been able to describe 102,718 species of animals, and work continues to discover and explain new species, especially from the lower invertebrate groups occurring in various ecosystems. Also, the status of the higher group of animals is studied before their habitats disappeared on the planet Earth.
The country’s custodian of the animal resources has broadened its work in line with the Articles of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD), a multilateral treaty focused on conserving biodiversity, promoting its sustainable use, and ensuring the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from genetic resources. As many as 157 countries signed it, like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The CBD now has 196 countries as signatories, including India.
To take the agenda further up, India also enacted the Biological Diversity Act in 2002 to implement the provisions of CBD, which covers biodiversity at all levels: ecosystems, species, and genetic resources. To support the implementation of its objectives, two internationally binding agreements were adopted within the framework of the CBD. The Cartagena Protocol, adopted in 2000 and entered into force three years later, regulates the transboundary movement of living modified organisms (LMOs).
The Nagoya Protocol, adopted in 2010 in Japan and entered into force four years later, establishes a legally-binding framework for access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from their use. Experts say considerably less is done to assess the degree and value of biodiversity without knowing the species involved. The ecosystem’s health also cannot be monitored without recognizing the presence of the individual organisms crucial for the indication of ecological processes.
The ZSI has made extensive surveys across the country, and a large number of specimens have been collected. Of these collections, only about 65 percent have been taxonomically studied. These include the major groups of vertebrates. The organization provides information and vital data for the in-situ conservation of various species in different ecosystems, both within and outside the protected areas. The ZSI provides regular services with regard to permissible limits of legal trading of faunal resources or derivatives thereof, monitoring services on population status of commercially important species, and providing inputs for underutilised, culturable species, both from terrestrial and aquatic systems.
A part of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, it also undertakes Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) with special reference to ecology and wildlife. Zoological surveys worldwide are crucial for understanding and managing biodiversity. These surveys involve various methods to collect data on animal populations, behaviour, and habitats, including field observations, monitoring programs, and advanced techniques like DNA analysis and satellite tracking.
There are about 1.7 million living species described from all over the world and another 15 million species are waiting to be discovered. Based on the largest dataset to date, the global Living Planet Index (LPI) shows an average 73 percent decline in monitored wildlife populations between 1970 and 2020. It reports that there has been a large average decline across more than 34,000 animal populations. In 2024, ZSI set up a pilot project to use eDNA (environmental DNA) to study and monitor wildlife.
Data analysis of the 2010-2020 decade reveals that a total of 4,112 species — 2,800 new species and 1,312 new records in 2020, India added 557 new species to its fauna, which included 407 new species and 150 new records, according to a document by the ZSI. The number of faunal species in India has climbed to 1,02,718 species with the discovery of the new species. There is no definitive, universally agreed-upon number for the total number of animal species in the world.
Estimates range from three million to 100 million. However, the most common estimates fall between seven and 10 million. About 1.5 million animal species have been formally described and named by scientists. The ZSI publishes the Red Data Book on Indian Animals, which was first published in 1983 and is similar to the Red Data Book published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network known for producing authoritative reports, standards, and tools for conservation.
Prof Md Imtaiyaz Hassan of Jamia Millia Islamia has received a research grant of Rs 8.05 crore from the Department of Biotechnology for a major study on cancer cachexia among Indian patients. Prof Md Imtaiyaz Hassan will lead the project focusing on head and neck cancer, where the condition affects a large share of patients.
Cancer cachexia causes severe weight loss, muscle wasting, and fatigue. It affects nearly 70 percent of patients with head and neck cancer and reduces quality of life. Prof Md Imtaiyaz Hassan and his team aim to examine the causes of this condition and improve methods for early detection and management.
The study will use advanced scientific methods such as transcriptomics, metabolomics, microbiome analysis, DNA repair studies, and neurobehavioural assessment. These approaches will help identify biological markers and support the development of targeted treatments.
Prof Md Imtaiyaz Hassan said the project addresses a major gap in understanding cancer related complications in India. He stated that the research will focus on improving patient outcomes through precise medical approaches.
The team will validate findings through laboratory studies involving cell lines, animal models, and patient derived samples. This step aims to ensure practical use of results in clinical settings.
The project includes collaboration with leading institutions such as the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, Dr B Borooah Cancer Institute, University of Mysore, HCG Cancer Hospital, and the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology.
The university said the grant strengthens its position in biomedical research. The work led by Prof Md Imtaiyaz Hassan is expected to contribute to better understanding and treatment of cancer related weight loss in India.
source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Latest News> Pride of the Nation> Markers of Excellence> Report / by Radiance News Bureau / March 23rd, 2026
Mohammed Umair, an alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), has been selected as a Scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Aligarh Muslim University:
Mohammed Umair, an alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), has been selected as a Scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Congratulating him on the achievement, members of the AMU fraternity noted that Umair’s achievement stands as an inspiration for students, reaffirming AMU’s legacy of nurturing talent that contributes to national institutions of excellence like ISRO.
Early Education
Umair’s academic journey is closely associated with AMU, where he spent over two decades of his education.
Umair began his schooling at Abdullah School, followed by STS School (Minto Circle), and later completed his senior secondary education from Sayyed Hamid Senior Secondary School, all associated with the university.
Higher Studies
Umair later pursued B.Arch and subsequently completed his Master of Planning (M.Plan) from AMU.
After completing his postgraduation, he qualified for the Ph.D. programme at IIT Roorkee. During his doctoral studies, he successfully cleared the ISRO examination, reflecting his dedication, perseverance, and strong academic foundation.
source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> Education and Career / by ummid.com news network / March 18th, 2026
Students of the Interdisciplinary Department of Remote Sensing and GIS Applications at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) have earned prestigious academic admissions and professional placements at leading institutions in India and abroad, underscoring the department’s growing reputation in geospatial sciences.
At the international level, Ms Areena has been selected for a PhD programme at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Meanwhile, Mr Md Zaid Qamar has secured admission to the International PhD Programme under the UNESCO Chair in Environment, Resource and Sustainable Development at Parthenope University of Naples, Italy.
On the national front, Mr Ahsan Sayeed has gained admission to the PhD programme in Geomatics at IIT Guwahati. Additionally, Ms Mantasha, Mr Tauheed Ahmad Ansari and Mr Zuhail Abdullah have been selected as Junior Resource Persons at the National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee.
The department’s students have also made notable strides in the corporate sector. Ms Shaista Perween has been appointed Assistant Manager at Tata Steel Limited in Jamshedpur, while Ms Juveriya Aqeel has secured a position with WSP in Bengaluru with an attractive remuneration package.
Congratulating the students on their accomplishments, Dr Haris Hasan Khan, Chairman of the department, said the achievements reflect both the students’ dedication and the department’s strong academic and research ecosystem in remote sensing and geospatial sciences.
source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Education> Latest News / by Radiance News Bureau / February 12th, 2026
As the year draws to an end, we have compiled a brief list of the Indian Muslims who have been in news during 2021.
Danish Siddiqui :
Danish Siddiqui was a Pulitzer Award winning photojournalist from New Delhi, who was killed by Taliban while covering the war in Afghanistan. An alumnus of Jamia Millia Islamia, Siddiqui was one of the country’s most well known photographers who documented the Rohingya refugee crisis, Covid deaths and the Delhi riots to win several awards. In July 2021, Reuters assigned him documentation of the Afghanistan War as an embedded journalist with Afghan Special Forces. On July 16, Siddiqui was killed in action. Governments of India, USA, Afghanistan and United Nations expressed grief and shock on his death and thousands joined his funeral procession in DelhI.
Dr Shahid Jameel :
Dr. Shahid Jameel is a world renowned virologist and is one of the leaders of India’s fight against Covid-19. The Covid-19 outbreak has thrown new challenges to the scientific community. When the Government of India set up an Indian Sars-Cov-2 Genomics Sequencing Consortium (INSACOG), which consists of 38 laboratories to monitor the genomic variations in the SARS-CoV-2, Jameel was appointed as the head of its scientific advisory group. He served the INSACOG in this position till May, 2021 and still advises different government and non-government bodies in strategising the war against Covid-19.
Coach Naseem Ahmed with Olympian Neeraj Chopra
Naseem Ahmed :
Naseem Ahmed: On 7 August, 2021, Neeraj Chopra threw Javelin for 87.58 mts. and became the first Indian to win an Olympic Gold in track and field events. With this success, Naseem Ahmed of Panchkula also hit the headlines. Ahmed was his first coach, who coached Chopra for almost six years at Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex in Panchkula. It was under his guidance that Chopra turned into an athlete from a chubby child. After returning to India, Chopra went to meet and receive blessings from his coach.
Mohammad Shareef alias Shareef Chacha receiving Padma Shri from President Ran Nath Kovind
Mohammad Shareef :
Mohammad Shareef is a bicycle mechanic from Faizabad, Ayodhya and hit the news headlines this year for receiving Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, from the President Ram Nath Kovind. In 1992, his son was murdered and was eaten by animals as nobody claimed it. This incident moved him so much that he took it upon himself to perform the last rights of unclaimed dead bodies. In the last 28 years, he has performed the last rights of more than 25,000 unclaimed dead bodies according to their religions.
Firoz Alam as an IPS officer (Left) and as a Constable of the Delhi Police (Right)
Firoz Alam :
Firoz Alam’s story is straight out of a fiction, where his character bears resemblance to those played on screen by several film stars. Alam, a resident of Hapur in U.P, was a constable with Delhi Police since 2010. In 2014, he started preparing for UPSC CSE. The work pressure and family responsibilities did not allow him to devote full time to the studies, like many availing coachings could do. After five unsuccessful attempts, in his sixth attempt he qualified UPSC CSE and joined as an IPS officer. His inspiring journey from a constable to IPS had taken the nation by a storm when he joined the training after leaving the job as constable.
Sadaf Choudhary
Sadaf Choudhary :
Sadaf Choudhary came into limelight when the UPSC CSE results were declared in September and she secured 23rd rank. She was the highest rank holder among Muslims this year and will become an IAS officer. It must be kept in mind that since independence only 179 Muslims have secured ranks to get IAS allotted to them.
Mohammed Siraj praying at the gave of his father
Mohammed Siraj :
Mohammed Siraj is an Indian cricketer from Hyderabad who made it to the headlines in January by becoming the highest wicket taker from India during the India – Australia Test Match Series in Australia. To claim his 13 scalps, he played only three of the four tests in the series. The fact that his father had died just before the series and he was given an option to return to the country, which he declined citing his commitment to the nation made it even more special.
In the last test match at Brisbane, he bagged five Australian wickets to script a historic win and became a national hero. The headlines of the sports column were filled with his heroics, commitment and ability. Since then he has been a regular feature of the Indian Cricket team as a pacer.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Stories / by Saquib Salim / December 30th, 2021
Assistant Professor Ejaz Ahmed further informed that the carbon nanotubes produced during the separation of hydrogen from methane are a high-strength material.
Jharkhand IIT-ISM students develop eco-friendly fuel by enriching coal bed methane with hydrogen.(Photo | Special Arrangement)
Ranchi :
Second-year students of the Chemical Engineering department at IIT-ISM Dhanbad have developed a technology to convert greenhouse gases like coal bed methane into environmentally friendly fuel, which can be used directly in CNG cars.
The eco-friendly fuel has been named as H-CBM (Hydrogen Enriched Coal Bed Methane). Chemical engineering students Kailash Krishna, Nitin Gaur, and Devashish Das, under the guidance of Assistant Professor Ejaz Ahmed, have also developed a hydrogen-enriched coal bed methane-powered car. Professor Alok Das of Mechanical Engineering Department also helped them in research work.
Coal-bed methane gas is released during coal mining. It is a dangerous greenhouse gas, considered to be approximately 25 times more harmful than carbon dioxide.
Ahmed said they are using a waste product that previously polluted the environment and creating an environmentally friendly fuel that can be used in any CNG car without any modifications.
Coal bed methane contains sulphur and methane, he said. “It is purified to produce pure methane. Then, a portion of the methane is cracked, through which hydrogen and carbon nanotubes are obtained. The hydrogen-enriched coal bed methane, produced through this process, can be used directly in cars as a substitute for CNG,” said Ahmed.
He further informed that the carbon nanotubes produced during the separation of hydrogen from methane are a high-strength material. They are used in bulletproof jackets and the steel industry. Its market price is up Rs 500,000 per kilogram, he said. The associate professor said that since carbon nanotubes are produced alongside hydrogen, the cost of the hydrogen becomes virtually zero.
Ahmed informed that the release of coal bed methane significantly increases environmental pollution. However, capturing coalbed methane offers considerable benefits. “Capturing 1 kilogram of coalbed methane is equivalent to reducing pollution by the same amount as 25 kilograms of carbon dioxide, which is crucial for environmental protection,” said the professor. It will prove to be a game-changer in the field of green mining, he added.
Second-year student Devashish Das, who is also a part of the research team, explained that CNG cars emit less carbon dioxide than petrol and diesel vehicles, but the emissions are not completely eliminated.
“Coal bed methane gas, extracted from the coal mines of Dhanbad, is far more dangerous. Considering this, hydrogen fuel has been developed from CBM,” said Das. Because hydrogen has a higher calorific value than CNG, it also provides better fuel efficiency for vehicles, he added.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Nation / by Mukesh Ranjan / February 09th, 2026
Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi have developed a bio-patch that can reverse the damage caused by a heart attack in humans. The patch can be planted on the heart and it would regrow the damaged tissue and restore health.
The patch made of biomaterials has already been tested on animals and is awaiting human trials before it can be manufactured.
This key medical project is led by the Kashmir-born scientist Dr Sheikh Ahmed Parvaiz at the Sheikh lab for BioMaterial Advances in Regeneration and Therapeutics (SMART), Centre for Biomedical Engineering at the IITD.
“After the attack, a patient’s heart usually work only 40 per cent of its capacity. Such people usually do not live long and are also not energetic and healthy,” Dr Parvaiz said.
Parvaiz A Sheikh with a student
He said the patch can regenerate tissues damaged during a heart attack, and a person can live a normal and good life. The cost of the bio patch would be nominal compared to the costly and invasive surgeries.
Parvaiz A. Shiekh has been heading the Centre for Biomedical Engineering (CBME), IIT-Delhi, as a DST INSPIRE Faculty since 2021.
According to the IIT website, where Dr Parvaiz is a faculty, “He establishes a research area that explores immunomodulatory materials and nanomaterials to develop therapeutic interventions for various biomedical & translational applications. His interests also lie in developing oxygen-based biomaterials and nano-therapeutics to cure cardiovascular diseases, diabetic complications and lung diseases.”
This, in a nutshell, means Parvaiz and his team are working on developing biomaterials that can become easy and inexpensive cure for heart and cardiovascular conditions in humans. He is working on regenerative medicine, where biomaterials and nanotechnology can be used for repairing body parts.
Dr Parvaiz A Sheikh
“We are also developing a bio-patch to cure the diabetic foot,” he told Awaz-the Voice. During his doctoral studies, Parvaiz has developed an oxygen-releasing wound dressing for diabetic foot.
The diabetic foot is a major health issue, and there is a lot of ignorance about it. “In India, many women are diabetic, and they don’t know. Many a time, such women go on pilgrimages barefoot and trek a long distance for faith. Many women develop sores that never heal due to their diabetic condition.”
This patch to regenerate the in a diabetic foot will cost around Rs 2 and save them the pain of gangrene, which leads to amputation of the foot.
Who is Parvaiz A Sheikh?
Parvaiz Sheikh was born in Villgam village in the Kupwara district of north Kashmir, about 30 km from the Line of Control in Northern Kashmir.
He earned his PhD in Bioengineering from IIT Kanpur and “developed functionalized biomaterials and scaffolds to attenuate oxidative stress and hypoxia in diseased conditions with remarkable translational application.”
Dr Parvaiz A Sheikh receiving anhonour
“He also explored using stem cell-derived nanovesicles (exosomes) to repair and regenerate diseases like diabetic foot ulcers, myocardial infarction, and diabetic neuropathy. Most notably, he developed an oxygen-releasing wound dressing “OxOBand” for diabetic foot ulcers and a nanofibrous oxygen-releasing cardiac patch for myocardial infarction.”
Having completed his graduation in biosciences from Sri Pratap College, Srinagar, Parvaiz A. Shiekh joined the Central University of South Bihar, Gaya, Bihar, for the Master’s course in Bioengineering, and this was not only a turning point in his career but life too.
Tracing his journey from Kupwara to the Hi-tech labs of India and abroad, Parvaiz Ahmed, who is in his mid-thirties, said that while growing up, he had not even heard of the IIT, let alone studying and working there.
He loved football and also played cricket. He had no particular idea of a carrer and would follow what elders told him.
However, some life-changing and heartwarming interactions with strangers at a young age led him to get admission into the Central University of South Bihar for a Bioengineering degree.
Dr Parvaiz A Sheikh delivering a talk
At the Delhi Railway Station and later in Bihar, he met strangers who helped him not only join the University but also live comfortably away from his home for the first time.
He said, as a 12th-pass, he was supposed to travel by train to Patna for counselling for securing his admission for the a bachelor’s degree in bioengineering in Central University of South Bihar when he found himself in dire straits. He had missed the train and had no money or idea how to reach Patna.
“I was crying while speaking with my brother on the phone when a travel agent spotted me. He bought me an air ticket to Patna and also paid my autorickshaw fare to reach the Airport.”
Those were the days of no mobile phones or ATM cards; people communicated on landlines and withdrew money from bank by visiting them.
Next, he realised that a contact of a local banker in Kupwara had travelled 100 km to receive him at the railway station, while he had landed at the Airport. The administrative staff at the University supported him in submitting the bank draft in time.
Dr Parvaiz A Sheikh with his doctoral degree
After securing his admission, the Buxur family insisted that he stay with them till the classes started. “They told me why should I travel home and return after 15 days, and waste money. They looked after me like their own,” he says.
Later, he received his PhD in biological sciences and bioengineering from IIT Kanpur (IITK) under the supervision of Prof. Ashok Kumar. There, he designed and evaluated bioactive, oxygen-releasing, and antioxidant polymeric biomaterials for therapeutics and translational medicine.
Today, as head of the Sheikh lab for BioMaterial Advances in Regeneration and Therapeutics (SMART) at the IIRT Delhi, his job involves taking cues from biology to create products based on engineering concepts, and possibly using them in different fields.
Speaking about his background, he said, “When you come from a background where you don’t have much exposure to things, every step becomes a learning experience for you.”
A Podcast with Dr Parvaiz A Sheikh:
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Stories / by Aasha Khosa, New Delhi / January 29th, 2026
